The Practice of Swimming and Parkour
by Stardust16
Summary: A few months after the first film, Ben finally convinces Mal to learn how to swim. Unfortunately, she only does it because of a deal they make and even then it doesn't go so well. Luckily for her, Ben's the one to keep his word. Rated T, Bal, two-parter. Might be turned into a possible multi-ship one shot collection. Prompts and possible requests welcome. Title might change.


**Hellooo! *sing-song voice***

 **So, this is a new little two-shot I thought of last night and just finished writing today. It's based off of a prompt I got two years ago but never fulfilled. So hopefully the person who requested the idea sees this and, even if they don't, well, hopefully somebody does!**

 **And, hey, if this turns out well, I might make it into a one-shot collection. Don't worry, I already have a title and I also have a journal to write down each request or prompt I get, so I'm prepared! I'm not gonna leave anything behind this time!**

 **So, if you guys want me to turn this into something more, after your done reading (or, if you don't read), just scroll down to the bottom and drop your idea in a review or drop it in my PM box on my profile! I'm always open to suggestions and will dedicate each chapter to the person who requested it.**

 **I hope you guys like the first half of this though. Now, go ahead and enjoy!**

* * *

"Ben, there is absolutely, unconditionally, a hundred percent no way I am going into that _stupid_ water," the daughter of Maleficent huffed as she shook her head and glared at it. She had no will to learn how to swim on the Isle and she had no will to learn how to swim now. She shook her head once more, just feeling disgusted thinking about it. Yeah, it wasn't gonna happen.

"Why not?" The king of Auradon questioned, curiously. Once he saw his girlfriend roll her eyes, he sighed before smiling, despite how tired he was from continuously arguing. Him and Mal rarely fought, yes, but this was something he really wanted her to master and despite how hard Mal tried to hide her feelings, he thought she wanted to too. Until now.

"I'll catch you," He continued, "I'll catch you if you fall and save you if you drown and if you still don't want to do it afterwards, you don't have to, okay? Just as long as you try."

Mal bit her lip and stood in thought for a minute, her eyes mischievous eyes sparkling in the sunlight. "Okay," She said after a minute of thinking. "I'll do it—on _one_ condition." Mal smirked and waited for Ben to nod, taking that as the gesture to continue. "If I go in the water and practice swimming, then you have to practice a sport that _I_ like."

Ben frowned, but agreed to said deal anyway. He knew from countless times when Mal was planning something, yet he also gave in each time without hesitation, so it was no different this time than it would be from the others.

"Alright," the young king agreed as he crossed his arms and leaned on the rocky platform his girlfriend was standing on. In response to this, Mal had then lowered herself and sat down not in front, but close to her boyfriend and smirked as she let the water hit her ankles. "What's your proposition?" He asked, curiously.

Mal smiled one of her classic wicked smiles. "That's for me to know and you to find out." She quipped before she stood up and took off her jacket. She had then began to lower herself and slip over the rocky platform into the lake below when she remembered something and took a step back. Ben hadn't agreed to the deal yet. At least, not verbally.

"What's wrong?" Ben asked, upon seeing his girlfriend pause. "Is the water too deep?" He knew that the water at the Enchanted Lake was shallow, but Mal was still scared, so it could've been anything, really. "Should we go someplace else? I can always bring you to my castle—"

Mal laughed a playful laugh at how wonderful her boyfriend was being. Ben's qualities never ceased to amaze her. "No," She answered as she shook her head, laughing. "You didn't agree to the deal yet."

Ben laughed, face palming while shaking his head dramatically. "Alright," He replied, a grin in his face. "I agree. How could I ever forget?"

Mal smiled. "Better." She had then lowered herself and as Ben offered his hand to help her in, she immediately swatted it away. She could do this herself, there absolutely _no way_ she needed _his_ help.

"Good," Ben instructed as he took Mal's hand against her will and lead her into the icy cold water. Even if was almost heat-wave hot out, that was a good thing as the water relaxed both of the teens instead of said liquid being hot to the touch. "Slowly now, slowly."

"This is gonna go even slower if you don't let go of my hand," Mal threatened. When Ben rolled his eyes and a silly grin appeared on his face, a glare and a smirk appeared on hers as her gaze hardened. "And if you hold on to me a second longer, you won't _have_ hands."

Upon hearing this, Ben quickly removed his touch from the girl's hold but still stood his ground and watched his girlfriend carefully. If anything happened, whether it was as small as a bruise or just a simple ankle sprain, he was taking her out of the water _immediately_. There was no way he was taking any chances on her drowning.

"You okay?" Ben asked, worry and concern coating his tone.

"Fine," Mal replied, though, to be truthful, she wasn't. As soon as she touched the water she felt like she was going to drown or sink to the bottom, though that might've just been her mind playing tricks on her. It was an unnatural experience, of course, since they had no water on the Isle and if they did, it was icky and mucky, but if Ben was going to put a bit of effort into practicing a sport she liked, then she saw no reason for her not to do the same for him.

"Good." Ben had then smiled at his girlfriend's progress and laughed. "And see, you're not even drowning yet."

He quickly decided those were a bad choice of words when Mal glared at him, her naturally soft green eyes hardening and flashing like they did at his coronation a few months back.

"Don't jinx it," She remarked, bright green flashes still speaking and twirling in her eyes. Even if she didn't want to do this, she had to. _'For Ben,'_ She reminded herself.

Ben bit his lip and chuckled, a small smiled laced on his face. "Should we try something simple?" He suggested. "Maybe going underwater? That way we can always try something else later if you feel like it."

Mal grinned, stopping her glare and flashing green eyes at her boyfriend. "Like strawberries?" She whispered, wiggling her eyebrows. She tried strawberries a few months back, yes, but she had yet to try actual things they were used in, rather than just the fruit alone.

Ben rolled his eyes and shook his head, though you could easily observe he wasn't being rude and, instead, just plain goofy. "Like swimming," He clarified, "We can try more swimming later."

Mal narrowed her eyes and huffed at the young king slightly. "I hate you," She muttered, though her tone betrayed the threat.

Ben laughed and gripped his girlfriend's hand. "I know." When he saw how confused she was with the sudden action, he immediately cleared his throat and began explaining. "So you feel safe," He explained, "Even though you're uncomfortable with doing this, I don't want you to be. I want you to feel as safe and secure as humanly possible."

Upon hearing her boyfriend's kind words, Mal nodded and smiled at Ben, giving him a small "thanks" while doing so. He had been so nice to her, ever since she and her friends had arrived in Auradon, and no one had ever been that nice to her or that patient with her before. When she'd arrived, she couldn't tell if he was just naturally friendly or if it was because his title as prince or future king, but over the months, she decided it was the former. Ben had proved countless times—more than once, actually—that he had a heart of gold and there was no need for Mal to doubt it now, so she didn't.

Nodding once more, Mal sighed silently and gave Ben a closed mouth smile. Then, without a second thought or any hesitation, she ducked her head and disappeared under the beautiful clear-blue water.

As Mal slowly descended, she felt her hair move around her on it's own. It felt heavy, like a weight attached to her now, but it didn't feel like one of those ones that could bring her down. Instead, it felt… refreshing. Calming, almost.

But it soon became too much for her, as so did the limited amount of oxygen. The weight was no longer peaceful or calming. Instead, it became a burden, dragging her down and down, deeper, every so often, her air slowly running out. _'Maybe,_ ' She thought to herself, _'Maybe, for a second, she could just let go and—'_

"We are _never_ doing that again," Ben muttered as he shot up from the water, his hair drenched, and placed his purple-haired close-to-losing-consciousness girlfriend on the rocky platform where the giant romantic pillar still was from their first date. Once placed safely on the shore, Mal rolled over and immediately started coughing up seawater.

"Agreed," Mal muttered once she sputtered out enough sea water to finally breathe properly. Slowly, she inched closer to sit in the blue blanket they'd once again brought and, just like last time, Ben took the cue to place his jacket over her shoulders (only this time it wasn't his letterman jacket, rather than the lightweight hoodie he received from being apart of the Auradon swords and shield team). Knowing that it cost a lot of money and was fragile to damage of any kind, Ben knew his parents would be a little disappointed, but, then again, he did give his jacket to Mal a few months back as a gesture, so he didn't really see the problem with it now. Besides, it was the nice thing to do. Not only that, but with her almost drowning, he wasn't really thinking about himself.

"Drink some water," the young king instructed as he pushed a bottle of it towards the girl, to which Mal raised an eyebrow. Ben blinked and stared at his girlfriend, confused. "What?" He asked, innocently, not seeing the problem.

Mal saw the look on her boyfriend's face, sighed, and began explaining. "Let me get this straight," She repeated, stretching and emphasizing the words."You want me to _drink water_ after I nearly just _died in water?_ "

"Okay," Ben said, holding up his pointer finger and emphasizing the first word of his sentence. "To be fair, that was not _completely_ solid logic on my part, but, in defense, I was worried and am still in shock."

Mal laughed at this for a second before her laughs turned into coughs and for much more than a few minutes, Ben grew worried. Upon seeing her boyfriend's uneasy features, Mal gave him a shy smile. "I'm fine," She tried to assure him, to no avail.

Ben frowned. "No, you're not." He had then stood up and slipped on his shoes before turning to Maleficent's daughter and helping her up. When Mal began to protest, however, his expression grew serious. "Mal, I'm not taking any chances." He had then, without a doubt or second thought, picked up the young girl and began to carry her through the woods and across the suspension bridge, each step bringing them closer and closer to the school, which just so happened to be a few minutes away.

"What about your scooter?" Mal asked, sleepily.

"I'll send someone to get it or go look for it later," Ben replied. When Mal still looked distressed, he sighed and added an extra part for good measure. "And, if it gets stolen or breaks down or anything, I can always buy a new one. I'm not taking any chances by bringing you on any kind of transportation for now. You're what's most important to me at the moment, okay, Mal?"

"Mal?" Upon receiving no answer, Ben looked down at the girl, shook his head and sighed thoughtfully before smiling. She'd fallen asleep in his arms and, despite the terrible experience both of them just had, he still had to admit that she looked _beyond_ adorable. He didn't know how she did it.

* * *

"So," Evie asked, upon finally seeing her roommate walk in from what seemed like all-day date. "How'd your date with Ben go?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

Mal sighed, angrily and also a little bit disappointedly, as she strutted into the room and flopped on to her bed dramatically. She'd just spent the last two hours in the school infirmary with Ben and even if he had stayed with her the entire time and even walked her to her dorm, she was still _beyond_ upset—at his _stupid_ date idea and her willingness to try it. _Never_ did she want to do so _again_.

"It didn't," Mal pouted as she stared up at the ceiling. Upon hearing her friends tone, Evie looked up at the girl and set her sewing work aside, gesturing for the former to continue talking and go on.

"I almost drowned," She elaborated. "It was a water date, Eve! A water date with water, swimming, and drowning and all of them were combined into _one stupid hour!_ "

"But Ben saved you, didn't he?" The stylish fashionista questioned. When Mal nodded, however, she looked even more confused. "So then why are you mad?"

"Should I not be?" The girl asked, sitting up suddenly.

Evie bit her lip and pondered in thought for a moment before speaking. "I really don't know," She decided. "From what you've told me, I don't think so, but if you are, don't be too over the top about it, okay?"

Mal huffed but knew her best friend was right either way.

"And give Ben a call, alright? He's texted me at least ten times in the last two minutes, so I think it's pretty fair to say he's worried about you."

Mal laughed. She knew how Ben could get sometimes, but she also knew she loved his kind and good-hearted ways. His heart was practically made of gold, nobody could deny that.

"Oh, and he also wanted to set up a time for a date next week between you two. Do you know anything about that?"

Mal sighed and groaned, flopping back on her bed once more. Oh, gosh, that deal. That _stupid_ deal. She couldn't believe he was still willing to go through with it after what happened today. She was sure the thing would've been cancelled as soon as she started drowning.

"Tuesday," She told the blue haired designer-stylist. As she said this, she inched closer to the top of the bed and rested her head on the pillows, sleepily curling up for a nap. Gosh, she could just doze off. "At four. A moment later and I'll have his head."

* * *

 **Haha, so hopefully you guys liked that ending. Don't worry though, part two will be coming soon! I already have a little somethin' planned for it. :)**

 **Thanks for reading the start of this little two shot and remember that if you want me to turn this into an entire collection of one shots, just drop me a little review down below or send me a PM on my profile! I'm always open to ideas and other people's input.**

 **The only thing I ask you guys not to request is anything above T and to keep in mind that if you request Jaylos or Mal/Evie, it'll probably a sibling shot or two, but only because I see them better that way. Hopefully you guys are fine with that. :) It's nothing personal, of course, just my preferences.**

 **Anyway though, thank you for reading this little story and reviews are appreciated! See y'all next time!**

 **~Star :)**


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